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Pope John Paul II (L) greets Mehmet Ali Agca at
Rebibbia prison on December 27, 1983 in Rome. Agca attempted to kill pope John
Paul II on May 13, 1981 (AFP Photo / STR)
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The Turkish gunman who
shot and wounded John Paul II in 1981 laid white flowers Saturday on the
saint's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican officials said.
AP reports the surprise
visit by Mehmet Ali Agca, believed to be his first time in the Vatican since
the assassination attempt, lasted a few minutes, a Vatican spokesman, the Rev.
Ciro Benedettini, said. As with other flowers left by visitors to the tomb, the
blossoms were later removed by basilica workers.
Benedettini said there
are no legal matters pending against Agca in the Vatican and he was free to
visit. Agca's trip came on the 31st anniversary of his meeting with the pope.
John Paul, who forgave
his attacker, visited Agca in a Rome prison on Dec. 27, 1983, and later
intervened to gain Agca's release in 2000. Agca was extradited to Turkey For
the 1979 killing of a Turkish journalist and he completed a 10-year sentence
there in 2010.
When Agca was apprehended
after shooting the pontiff in St. Peter's Square during a public audience, the
Turk said he acted alone. Later he suggested Bulgaria and the Soviet secret
services masterminded the attack on the Polish-born pontiff, whose championing
of the Polish Solidarity labor movement alarmed Moscow.
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